


Just Like Me

by demizorua



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1970s, F/F, syo is called gigi in this lmao, welcome to i made this for class and remade it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-07 03:31:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14071965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demizorua/pseuds/demizorua
Summary: Startup author Toko Fukawa spends her time in isolation, living as a recluse in her apartment. However, when she chooses to venture out, she runs into a flighty young woman named Komaru Naegi, and is forced to confront the terror that is ~f~e~e~l~i~n~g~s~yeah, it's a 1970s au, with the whole stonewall riots dealio that was going on then. toko has an emotional revelation.





	Just Like Me

**July 11th, 1969**

_The young girl looked out the dingy window of her cramped apartment, gazing upon the dreary city streets which lay before her. She wondered if today would be the day when her life would finally change- for better or for worse._

“No, that’s too cliche…” a young woman muttered to herself. She frustratedly tore the paper from her beat up typewriter and added it to the growing pile of discarded ideas in her trash bin. “Cmon, get ahold of yourself, Toko!” Rubbing her hair in frustration, Toko stood from her makeshift desk- a tiny table in the center of her apartment that held her personal typewriter- and stretched after having sat for so long. Sighing again, Toko airily gazed out the window out at the city below, before turning her gaze to the stack of paper in the trash. “I-I suppose… getting some fresh air wouldn’t hurt…” Toko mused to herself, smoothing out her knee-length skirt and searching through her messy apartment for her notes. Finally finding her journal where she kept all her writing ideas, the upstart author grabbed her favorite pen and nervously set out from her apartment and into the bustling city.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ay, bunny, where you bookin’ it to?” Toko sighed tiredly, and turned to face her addresser.  
“Wh-what do you want, Gigi?”  
“Chill, Tick Tock! M’just chillaxin’ out here, nothin’ bouge! Jus’ wanted ta’ see what’s got my favorite chick leavin’ ‘er nest!” Toko rolled her eyes at her friend, having grown used to her antics. Gigi was Toko’s neighbor and was known in the area for being one of the more dangerous people around, some even going so far as to refer to her as “Genocider”. For some reason, however, Gigi had taken a liking to Toko and tried to protect the girl from anything she deemed a threat. Toko had initially been frustrated with Gigi’s attachment to her, but after discovering that Gigi was really nothing more than a barber with a sharp tongue, she came to appreciate the elder woman’s help.  
“I-I’m just getting some inspiration, I d-don’t need your permission…” Toko muttered, fiddling with the ends of her ascot.  
“Ayy, I can dig it!” Gigi cackled, ruffling Toko’s hair, despite being the same height as the younger. “Catch ya on the flip, baby!” she called, before darting off, likely to go find someone else to mess with. Toko sighed, before heading off to her favorite spot to get inspired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Toko walked through the door to Hopeful Books, the local bookshop, she let a breath of relief escape her lips. Toko was a very anxious person, and did not leave her apartment often, but in this bookstore, she felt relaxed by the soothing atmosphere.  
The store was very picturesque, having a series of tall bookshelves, neatly organized by genre, going back to the rear of the store. Nearby the counter, there was a small sitting area in the open where many often hung out, and in the back of the store, there were a handful of small chairs for reading. Toko looked around, taking note of the comic book display in the window, and the newspaper basket with the day’s paper. “Stonewall Riots Hot Topic Amongst New Yorkers,” the headline read. Toko turned away hurriedly, suddenly feeling strangely nervous- or at least more so than usual.  
“Hey, Toko! Searchin’ for inspiration again?” called the man sitting behind the counter.  
“Wh-what’s it to you, Makoto?!” Makoto, the owner of the bookstore, simply smiled sheepishly. Makoto had known Toko for years, and, having grown used to her abrasive attitude, knew she meant nothing by the rude response. As Toko headed towards the back corner of the store, she heard Makoto call out to her.  
“Oh, hey, I got some new help! My sister, Komaru! She should be hanging around here somewhere, so don’t be alarmed, alright?” Toko didn’t respond, already having gotten lost in the books. She grabbed one of her personal favorites, Madeleine L'Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time, and settled down in one of the back chairs to read.  
_**Crash!**_  
Toko looked up from her book with a start, having had her concentration broken by the sudden noise. Looking around, she noticed a young girl lying on the ground, buried in comic books.  
“…are you okay?”  
“Y-yeah! Yeah, I’m good… could you just… gimme a hand here?” the girl waved a hand from beneath the pile, shifting the balance of the stack and accidentally causing more books to fall onto her, making her shriek.  
Toko begrudgingly put her book aside and shuffled over to the mess, carefully removing the books from the pile. She may not like comic books, but a book is a book, and all books must be treated with care. When Toko removed a comic from the girl’s face, she halted.  
“Oh, thank you!” the girl cheerfully said, as if she wasn’t still half buried beneath an avalanche of comic books. Surveying the mess around her, she managed to escape from her literary prison, and began putting the books back on the shelves they had fallen from, chirping “My name’s Komaru! What’s yours?”  
“I-I’m Toko…” Komaru. This was Makoto’s sister, right? She’s… really pretty. W-wait! No! Stop it, Toko, now’s not the time for that… whatever that was. Toko was about to say something else, but Komaru beat her to it.  
“Oh hey! The Fantastic Four! Have you read it?”  
“…the what?”  
“The Fantastic Four! It’s this brand new comic from Marvel, with a superhero team! They’re so cool, I just love the part where-” Toko was stunned by the girl’s seemingly boundless energy, but she scowled at the mention of the comic books.  
“I-I don’t care about any s-stupid comic books…” Toko muttered, cutting Komaru off. The girl gasped dramatically, clutching her chest in mock pain.  
“How could you! Comics are my life!”  
“D-don’t be such a s-spaz…” Toko muttered. She felt her cheeks getting warmer. Oh no. No no no no no no. “I-I have to… g-go…” Toko blurted. Her only thought was that she had to leave, right now.  
“Oh, okay!” Komaru smiled, finishing her cleaning. “I hope I see you again! Come by anytime, I’m always here, you know!” Toko nodded quickly before darting out of the store and booking it home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**July 18th, 1969**

_I long to run my hands through her short brown hair, to lay by her side on a warm summer’s day. Her eyes have never left my mind, their dull green color, almost faded, yet they sparkled with excitement and nearly childlike wonder. Her hands are smooth and soft, not calloused and rough like mine. I wonder what it’d be like to holdtgfh_

“Aaugh!” Toko cried, laying her head on the keys of her typewriter in frustration. It had been over a week since her first encounter with Komaru at the bookstore, and since then she’d been completely unable to focus on anything else. Every time she tried to work on her next book, she’d end up getting distracted by thinking about Komaru, and whenever she went to the bookstore to get herself focused again, she’d end up even more hung up! Why Komaru? Why that stupid girl… with her stupid obsession with stupid comic books… and her phony attitude- why else would she be so nice to Toko?- and her… her pretty face and- no! “Why do I keep thinking about that airhead!” Toko growled. “I-I have to get this to stop…” she muttered, pulling on her sweater and heading outside.  
It was a warm night, and Toko didn’t know where she was going, she just needed to get away from… from whatever it was that was messing with her head. She wandered around aimlessly, lost in her head.  
“Y’good, Tick Tock?” Toko was snapped out of her reverie by the sharp sound of her neighbor’s voice. Gigi was standing in front of her, a smug smirk on her face.  
“O-oh, Gigi… it’s just y-you…” Toko muttered, fiddling nervously with her sleeves.  
“Aight, what’s the stitch. You’re so stunned, dude.” Gigi leaned against the side of the building, clearly picking up on Toko’s internal conflict. Toko knew that it’d be pointless to argue with Gigi when she got like this, so she relented.  
“I-it’s nothing… just some girl at that bookstore I go to…” Gigi raised an eyebrow. “She’s new a-and she’s such an idiot! Always talking about d-dumb comic books… and l-looking at me all funny… with her stupid… green eyes… and… pretty face… and… rrAAUGH!” Toko cut herself off with a groan of frustration. “I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I c-can’t stop thinking about her!” Toko looked at Gigi frustratedly, before Gigi’s shoulders started shaking.  
“pff… kyaHAHAHA! Oh, this is too rich, girl!”  
“Wh-wh-what?” Toko was stunned. “A-are you laughing at me?!”  
“Aww… poor lil’ Tick Tock s’gotta crush~! I canna believe y’so freaked out o’er y’r lil’ crush ‘n a chick!” A… a crush? Wait, a crush!?  
“N-n-no way! I-I don’t have a c-crush! I s-said it was a girl!” Gigi snorted amusedly in response, shrugging.  
“S’not th’ 50’s anymore, bun! Y’gotta crush ‘n this chick ya met at the bookstore, y’r a lesbian, hon!”  
“I… n-no! That’s not true! L-leave me alone!” Toko was in shock. I can’t… it can’t be true, right?  
“Dun worry, ‘s completely normal hunny! Stonewall wus like… two weeks ago! We all normal, ‘n’ there’s notta place better t’ be than New York if ya catch my drift!” Gigi clapped Toko on the back. “Be cool, girl, ol’ auntie Gigi s’here ta help ya!” A crush… oh jeez.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**July 21st, 1969**

It had been three days since Gigi had first mentioned Toko’s crush, and Toko had holed herself up in her apartment ever since. She wasn’t caught off guard by her feelings- in fact, she’d known for a while. She just refused to acknowledge it, ever since she was young. As a child, she’d been naive enough to tell her parents about her feelings for another girl, and it had changed everything. Her parents had already disliked her prior, her sexuality only added fuel to the fire. She’d been left on the streets as a 10-year-old, cold and alone, for reasons she didn’t fully understand. All Toko knew was that her feelings made her parents hate her and that she was alone.  
Since then, Toko had buried her feelings, hiding from the truth she’d known since she was young. Having her internal conflict rise again after all these years shocked her, and forced her to look introspectively at herself. Thanks to Gigi’s help, she’d been able to calm her racing thoughts enough to function, and decided to vent her frustrations in the only way she’d ever known: writing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Ever since I first met you, I’ve had you on my mind. Your eyes pierce through to my very soul, leaving their dull emerald glow behind for all eternity. Your laugh echoes in my mind like a clear bell, the sweetest sound I have ever had the fortune to hear. The feel of your hands lingers behind, their gentle touch slowly fading into a warm mist. I spend my every waking moment thinking about you, your sparkling smile and innocent face. I know you likely detest me, with my ratty hair and greasy clothes, but I still fantasize about a place where I may be worth something to you._

Toko sighed, leaning back in her chair. She looked at the mountain of words which upon which she had inscribed her complex thoughts and feelings, a bit amazed at the sheer size of it. She supposed that concealing her feelings for over half of her lifetime would leave a lot of unresolved tension and conflict.  
“What’s up, Toko?” Toko nearly screamed, whipping around to face the source of the question. “Woah, sorry, didn’t mean to make you bug out like that!” Komaru said. “Whatcha writing about?”  
“I-i-it’s nothing! N-nothing, don’t worry about i-it!” Toko blurted out, scrambling to collect the papers strewn across the small bookstore table. “I-I-I have to go, s-sorry…” Grabbing the mess off of the table, Toko darted out of the store, leaving a very bewildered Komaru behind.  
Once she made it inside her apartment, Toko collapsed on the floor, letting herself relax.  
“Th-that was… too close,” she mumbled. Even thinking of Komaru finding her writings made her nervous, as the girl would surely despise her if she knew! Breathing deeply, Toko began to organize the jumbled papers, sorting them neatly. “Wait… I… I should have one more… where’s the last one?!” Toko shuffled through her papers in a panic, counting them once, twice, three times. Suddenly, it hit her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toko burst through the door to the bookstore, racing back to where she had been sitting. To her chagrin, she came across Komaru.  
“Oh, back so soon? What’s wrong?”  
“N-nothing, it doesn’t concern you!” Toko snapped. “I’m j-just… looking for something.”  
“Something like… this?” Komaru asked, pulling a page from behind her back. Toko blanched, freezing up. Komaru had definitely read it, there was no doubt about it. She probably hated her now, probably thought she was disgusting, that she was sick. “Toko?” Without another word, Toko ran from the store, barely hearing Komaru calling after her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**July 22nd, 1969**

I can’t believe how _stupid_ you are! Writing your thoughts down, and bringing it to where she works? That’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done, and you’ve done a lot of stupid stuff! You deserve to have her hate you, you sickening, deplorable, godawful- Toko was torn out of her self-loathing spiral by the sound of someone knocking on the door.  
“G-go away…” she called. She really didn’t want to deal with anyone right now, not after what had happened. The person at the door was persistent, however, and continued to knock until she relented. “Wh-what do you want-” At the door stood none other than Komaru.  
“Heyyyy, Toko…”  
“Wh-what are you doing here! H-how did you know where I live!”  
“Someone named Gigi came to the store? She said she knew you and told me how to get here.” Of course it was Gigi, Toko thought.  
“W-well? Get on with it, th-then.”  
“What?”  
“Insult me! Tell me how g-gross and t-terrible I am! How I d-disgust you with my very existence!” Toko cried. Tears started slipping down her face involuntarily, and she cursed herself for getting so emotional over something she should have expected.  
“Toko, I would never do that!”  
“Then why are you here? Y-you read what I wrote… You must be wondering how anyone could be so vile and selfish and-” Toko was cut off by Komaru lightly kissing her cheek.  
“I did read your note, Toko, and I thought it was sweet! You’re a very talented writer and a wonderful woman!” Komaru gushed, a light blush decorating her cheeks. “To tell you the truth… I was worried that you would hate me! Nobody except my brother has known about my sexuality before, and I was worried that you’d be annoyed by my constant attention,” she admitted sheepishly. Toko was stunned. She listened to Komaru, still not even really believing that this was happening. “Toko… I think you’re wonderful. I… I love you.”  
Toko was overwhelmed. All her emotions hit her like a ton of bricks, and she began sniffling, clinging to Komaru like a lifeline. When had she started hugging her? She didn’t know. All she knew was Komaru loved her. Komaru… loved her. And that’s all that mattered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**June 28th, 1970**

_I looked at her and finally realized. This is where I’m meant to be. At her side, with her. I need her, and she needs me. We complete each other. If I can’t do something on my own, all she has to do is help me. If she can’t do something on her own, all I have to do is help her. We have each other… and that’s what matters._

“Toki, are you ready?”  
“Y-yeah, coming!” Toko pulled out the page she’d been writing and added it to the neat stack beside the typewriter. Her newest work in progress was a first-person novel based on her experiences in the past year, although slightly altered for her protection. Writing was her way of venting her emotions, and her books always contained her very heart and soul. She smiled, remembering how wonderful this year had been.  
“Cmon, Toki, hurry it up!” Komaru playfully whined, appearing in the doorway. “We’re gonna be late!”  
“Alright, alright.” Today meant everything to both Toko and Komaru, and for so many of their friends. One of Gigi’s friends had been part of a group organizing a gay pride march on Sixth Avenue, and they had decided to go. Toko had been reluctant, but was determined to participate. The events of this day could affect the lives of people for generations to come, and the conflict was especially close to Toko’s heart. Komaru walked over to her and kissed her cheek, smiling at her.  
“Ready?”  
“Ready.” Toko reached out and grasped her hand, and Komaru gave her a reassuring squeeze. Come what may, they could do this. Together, they could withstand whatever was thrown their way. The pair stepped out the door and into the world before them. Come what may, at least they had each other. And that made all the difference.

**Author's Note:**

> holy shit i worked too hard on this tbh. aaaaaanyways, it’s done lmaooo. i got all the slang and shit from google so sorry if it’s Bad™


End file.
